SEVENTEEN MILES

Miles wakes slowly, bit by bit. He feels his head first, aching sharply and making him groan into his pillow. The taste of his mouth comes next, stale and cottony, and he blinks the sleep from his eyes, opening them blearily.

He shoots up as soon as his eyes focus, shock and panic making his head swim.

Kieran is sound asleep on the other side of the bed, soft in the morning light sneaking its way in through the gaps in the curtains. His breathing is slow and even, and he has a hand half outstretched toward Miles.

What the fuck? Miles tries to remember how, exactly, he wound up in bed with Kieran next to him, but he hits a wall halfway through last night.

The panic spikes, morphing into confusion as he realizes he can"t remember much after changing his shirt with Phoenix, and he glances down, realizing he"s still fully dressed. So is Kieran, he notices after looking over, not a thread out of place. He"s sleeping on top of the blankets, too, while Miles was tucked in comfortably beneath them.

He doesn"t have time to puzzle out how he"s supposed to feel about that before his phone starts buzzing on his nightstand. He grabs at it, both to stop the noise from aggravating his headache further and grateful for quite literally any distraction right now.

"Hello?" he answers, coughing at the way his voice scratches up his throat.

There"s no way he drank enough to black out last night, but, god, he feels like he did.

"Smiles, honey, where are you?" Frank"s voice sounds over the line, and Miles does absolutely nothing to stop himself from groaning in annoyance. "I stopped by your place and you weren"t home. Are you out? Why don"t you let me pick you up, we can—"

"Jesus Christ, Frank, would you take a hint and fuck off for once in your life?" Miles snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose in his fingers. He won't even bother asking how Frank got his new address.

There"s shocked silence on the other end of the line, and Miles immediately feels guilt settle in his stomach. He finds he doesn"t really want to apologize, though. The guilt is just at being mean, at letting his temper snap. It"s not guilt for saying no to Frank, and the realization buoys his spirit enough to let him keep talking.

"Sorry, I didn"t mean to curse at you," he sighs, but before Frank can start talking again, he continues, words tumbling out like he"s known what to say all along. "You"re not a part of my life anymore. I don"t want you to be a part of my life. Lose my number, forget my address, and just…go live your own life."

He doesn"t give Frank a chance to so much as breathe before pulling the phone away from his ear and hanging up. His fingers seem to move on their own, tapping the number and scrolling down to block it.

It feels like a huge weight off his shoulders, and he tosses his phone down on the nightstand with a sigh.

"Morning," Kieran"s voice sounds from behind him, groggy with exhaustion.

Miles whirls, almost having forgotten that Kieran is even here. Today has only just started, and Miles already feels like he"s suffering from whiplash.

"You feeling ok?" Kieran asks, pushing himself up and stretching his back before turning to face Miles.

He glances at Miles" phone but doesn"t say anything. Miles is grateful, considering he probably heard the whole thing.

"My head hurts," Miles answers, blinking and trying to get his head on straight. "Did something happen last night? I can"t remember anything after changing my shirt."

Kieran grimaces, and Miles" heart rate skyrockets, panic settling in his throat again. He looks almost guilty when he glances at Miles, nodding. Oh, fuck, what did he get himself into?

"You got drugged," Kieran tells him, cutting off Miles" whirlwind thoughts. His voice is low and angry, and he"s glaring at the sheets. "I think Blackwood put something into one of your drinks. We left early and I walked you back here, but I was too worried to leave you alone."

Miles swallows down a million other questions, and he takes a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves. He hopes the rest of today isn"t as stressful as this morning has been. He probably wouldn"t survive.

"We got the evidence," Kieran adds, looking up at Miles with a tentative smile. "You said he offered to get you roles in exchange for "favors" and was pretty explicit with what he expected."

Miles sees a muscle in Kieran"s jaw twitch, and he"s grateful that he"s not doing this alone. His feelings for the man aside, Kieran has always been someone he can rely on to make sure he"s safe. Apparently, that applies to getting his ribs kicked in at a park in high school and getting drugged by a billionaire. He"s a good guy to have around.

"Oh," Miles breathes, relief flooding through him and making him laugh as he leans his head back against the wall behind the bed. "Thank god that"s over. Now all I have to do is act in a movie."

Kieran"s eyes crinkle at the corners as he laughs in response, and it looks like some of the tension drains from his frame as well.

Miles jumps when he hears his phone start buzzing again, scowling over at his nightstand. He blocked Frank, but he wouldn"t put it past the man to call him from another number. His eyes widen when he sees the contact name, though, and he scrambles to pick it up.

"Agent Hendricks," he answers, putting the call on speaker.

Kieran crowds closer, grinning at Miles. Miles grins back at him, just glad to be able to wash his hands of all of this.

"Mr. Rivera," Hendricks sighs, sounding oddly relieved. "Are you alright? We"ve been attempting to get in contact with you and Mr. Callahan since yesterday evening."

Miles and Kieran share a look, and Kieran reaches over, unlocking his phone. A look of guilt crosses his face as Miles watches him turn off airplane mode, a slew of missed calls filling his screen.

"We lost connection with you yesterday evening shortly after you entered the Blackwood estate," Burke chimes in, sounding as pleasant as ever.

The relief in Miles" gut turns to lead, and he looks at Kieran, anxiety filling his throat.

"So you didn"t get anything from last night?" he asks, his voice strained.

There"s a short pause, then Hendricks speaks again.

"The only footage or audio we got after about 7 p.m. was from Mr. Callahan"s equipment. It seems there was a malfunction with yours, Mr. Rivera."

The moment he bumped into Phoenix, wine spilling down his shirt, flashes through Miles" mind, and his mouth drops open in anger and despair. Was that intentional? Was everything last night for nothing? Are they back to square one with nothing to show for their work so far?

Before he can say anything, Kieran starts talking, glaring down at the phone.

"Someone spilled a drink on Miles last night, and then he was drugged and Blackwood solicited him," Kieran grinds out. Miles doesn"t ever think he"s seen Kieran this upset. "And you"re telling me that you didn"t get anything from it because the FBI didn"t think to make their fucking equipment waterproof?"

Miles blinks at him in surprise. He looks furious, his eyes stormy, his hands curled into fists on top of the sheets, and his voice is trembling with how restrained he"s obviously keeping himself. Neither of the agents say anything for a long moment.

"Mr. Callahan," Burke finally answers, "I understand your—"

"Call it off," Kieran cuts him off, snarling down at the phone before he reins himself in. "We probably blew our cover last night, and this has already been too dangerous as it is. It"s time for us to back out."

"Kieran!" Miles scolds, absolutely shocked he"d even suggest that. "We"re not backing out. We"re in too deep to just give up now." Kieran aims that look at him, and Miles" hackles raise immediately. "It"s not your choice. I"m the one in danger here, and I say we keep going."

Kieran stares at him, jaw clenched, his frustration palpable. Miles is absolutely bewildered at why he"s acting like this. Kieran was the level–headed one at Dr. Grace"s; he kept his cool the whole way through. Why is he acting like this now?

"That"s the point, Miles," he scoffs, rubbing his hand down his face. "I don"t want you to be in danger."

The air sits heavily between the two of them as they stare at each other. Miles doesn"t think he can come up with a single thing to say to that, not when Kieran is looking at him almost pleadingly.

"We"d appreciate your continued cooperation," Hendricks says after a long pause, breaking the staring match between the two of them.

"You have it," Miles agrees, not looking at Kieran. "We"ll keep on according to plan."

He hangs up before Kieran can say anything, looking back up at him. They"re both tense, staring at each other like they both have about a million things they want to say.

Before either of them can say anything, though, the door to the bungalow swings open. Miles jumps, turning to see Ethan half frozen in the doorway, his brows raised so far up his forehead that Miles worries they"ll get stuck there.

"Wow," Ethan says scornfully, glaring at the two of them in bed together. "I didn"t realize method acting included actually fucking each other."

And that"s just about the last straw for Miles. He jumps up from the bed and stalks toward Ethan, grabbing the cup of coffee from his hand and pushing him back out of the doorway.

"Go the fuck away," he tells Ethan, his voice shaking with stress. "I"m going to handle myself for the day, just leave me the hell alone."

His headache has reached a point of no return, his entire body shaking. Miles isn"t sure if he wants to scream or cry or throw up as he watches Ethan storm off, but he doesn"t have the energy to do anything but sip at the coffee. Apparently Ethan hadn"t gotten it for him, as there"s about a pound of sugar in it.

He turns back to see Kieran watching him warily from the bed.

"You should go get ready," Miles says, his voice blank.

He walks into his bathroom and closes the door behind him before Kieran has a chance to say anything. Miles listens tensely to the silence on the other side of the door, gripping the edges of the sink and doing his best to breathe steadily. Finally, there"s the sound of sheets rustling, then footsteps, then the quiet click of the door opening and closing.

Miles takes a long moment, attempting to steady himself, but his head slips into a foggy haze, and he can"t seem to pull himself out of it.

He stays in that state through most of the day, going through the motions as he joins everyone on set. He"s grateful they"re filming more background stuff today, as he knows Octavia would chew him out to the ends of the earth if he had to act in the state he"s in today. She"s already pissed about how much audio is getting ruined, glaring up at the sky every few minutes when another private jet or helicopter arrives, all flocking toward Blackwood"s mansion.

Miles finally manages to snap out of his almost dissociative state as they near wrap for the day. Blackwood himself shows up, Phoenix driving one of the ostentatious golf carts he and Kieran had ridden around in, a broad smile on his face.

Miles" anxiety spikes as he steps off and approaches Octavia, greeting her warmly. They chat for a bit, and then Octavia claps her hands together twice, everyone"s attention immediately on her. Miles remembers the same kind of feeling when he was in grade school.

One, two, three, eyes on me.

"I apologize for the interruption," Blackwood crows, addressing the crowd, "although Ms. Chambers tells me I"ve come at a good time. I"d like to invite everyone, cast and crew, to a soirée I"m hosting this evening to show my gratitude to all of you for being such wonderful guests. There will be food and drink, along with entertainment. Dress to impress."

Chatter rises up as Blackwood finishes his little speech with a wink, everyone excited. Blackwood shakes Octavia"s hand, and then his eyes find Miles. Miles" shoulders immediately tense, but he smiles back in a way he hopes is inviting, raising his hand in a wave.

Blackwood makes his way over, cutting through the crowd, to place a hand on Miles" shoulder. He"s unnecessarily close, and Miles does his best to stay put, batting his lashes.

"How are you feeling, dear boy?" Blackwood asks him.

He looks genuinely concerned, but Miles" stomach flips, anxiety rising in his throat.

"I"m ok now," Miles answers, laughing the question off. "I think I just had a bit too much to drink."

He hopes Blackwood wasn"t paying too much attention to his alcohol consumption. He should have asked Kieran what cover story he gave Blackwood to get them out of there last night.

"That"s good to hear," Blackwood says, his hand sliding down Miles" arm affectionately. The gesture makes Miles want to throw up. "I wanted to ask if you"d do me the honor of playing a few songs tonight. Many of my guests are fans of yours."

Miles blinks in shock, his discomfort shoved out of the way by shock. He"s torn between feeling flattered and unsettled, nerves fluttering in his stomach about having to handle the actual scope of his mission and performing on top of it.

"Of course," he agrees, stumbling over his words. "I"d be happy to."

"Good," Blackwood says, a grin curling over his lips as he squeezes just above Miles" elbow. "I"ll see you this evening."

Miles watches him go, climbing back aboard the golf cart beside Phoenix, who shoots Miles a glance full of warning. Miles turns to head back toward his bungalow when Octavia calls to wrap, his mind racing as thoughts start to whirl again. He"s just so tired, and he wants a break from everything. Today has been absolutely insane, and he hopes he can have even just a few moments of peace in preparation for tonight.

Those hopes get dashed when Ethan falls into step beside him as he nears his bungalow. He doesn"t have the energy to even deal with an apology at this point.

"Looks like I got my invite after all," Ethan snarks, looking at Miles pointedly.

Miles just sighs. Of course Ethan wouldn"t apologize. Who was he kidding? He fixes his eyes on his bungalow and quickens his pace, not in the mood to deal with any of this right now.

"Don"t get pissy when I ignore you all night!" Ethan calls as Miles puts distance between them.

Miles doesn"t answer, punching in his keycode and slipping into his bungalow, locking the door behind him. The silence is soothing, and Miles takes a deep breath, just standing in the middle of the room for a long minute.

He has no idea how he"s going to manage tonight.

His head feels both completely empty and like he"s stuffed so full of thoughts he can"t possibly begin to wade through them. He blinks at a spot on the floor, wishing desperately he could just curl up in bed and nap for a while. His head still aches, although it"s gotten better throughout the day, and he feels so completely drained that he has no idea where he"ll find the energy to go through the rest of the night.

He doesn"t really have time to waste, though, so he lets himself slip back into that mindless fog he"s been in for most of the day, hoping it"ll quiet his brain at least for a bit and give him some semblance of refuge from everything.

He goes through the motions, showering, doing his hair, spraying cologne behind his ears, trying to take special care in getting ready even if he can hardly convince himself to pay attention to any of it. It"s exhausting to button himself into his suit, but the well-tailored fit makes him feel a little more human. He pulls the spare tie pin and belt from the kit Hendricks and Burke sent him with, and he laughs at himself when he manages to seat the tie pin perfectly straight on the first try.

At least he won"t have to ask Kieran for help this time. He"s not sure he"d be able to survive being that close to him right now.

Miles is actually kind of looking forward to the walk over to the mansion, hoping for a moment to clear his head in the evening air, but when he steps out of his bungalow into the early evening light, he sees a fleet of golf carts, all with their own uniformed butler in the driver"s seat.

"You look good."

Miles turns his attention from the golf carts to Kieran, who he somehow failed to notice falling into step beside him.

"Thanks," he mumbles, attempting to bring himself into the current moment and actually pay attention.

He needs to be sharp for this.

"You ready?" Kieran asks.

His voice is gentle, and Miles smiles, irony sharpening the edges. He"s not ready, not even a little bit. Something tells him tonight is going to be the night, and it makes anxiety sit heavily at the base of his spine.

"Of course," he says, instead of saying any of that. "Are you?"

Kieran looks at him, brows raised, but he doesn"t argue. Miles is grateful for it.

"Yeah."

They stop talking as they come upon one of the carts, Octavia, Isabella, and Ethan already piled aboard, all dressed to the nines. Kieran lets him climb on first, following behind him and taking the seat next to him. Miles is grateful for it, as Kieran manages to do all the talking so he can sit and watch the trees zip by in the fading light.

The ride is over far too quickly, and before Miles knows it, he"s stepping off the golf cart and taking a deep breath at Kieran"s side.

It"s overwhelming immediately once they step up onto the terrace. Miles" breath catches in his chest, and he freezes for a second, but Kieran glances back with a soothing grin.

"Just follow my lead," he whispers. "You"ll be fine. I"m your bodyguard, remember?"

"Sidekick," Miles corrects him weakly.

The attempt at humor does make him feel a little bit less overwhelmed, and he follows Kieran, doing his best to stay in the man"s shadow as they make their rounds. Kieran greets people warmly, introducing them as "Adam" and "Natalie" and "Tom" and "Emma" like they"re just normal people and not the most famous human beings Miles will ever meet in his entire life. He does his best to keep up with introductions, shaking hands and smiling and laughing along at jokes.

Everything is so elaborately decorated that Miles almost feels like he"s in an entirely different house, grand ice sculptures in the middle of artful piles of food, master mixologists doing extravagant tricks behind bars as they craft exotic, beautiful cocktails with rare ingredients and liquors Miles has never seen.

It would be breathtaking if he wasn"t so anxious.

They make their way closer to where Miles can see Blackwood holding court with a circle of people who are so famous Miles is kind of shocked they actually exist. He sometimes forgets Kieran is also one of those people, because Kieran is…well, Kieran.

Before they get close enough to Blackwood to actually be seen, he excuses himself from the circle, stepping up onto the stage where a string quartet is playing. They fall silent at his queue, and Blackwood steps up to a microphone, clearing his throat.

The crowd"s attention turns to him almost like they"re one beast, and Miles" heart beats so strongly he can hear the rush of blood in his ears.

"My dear friends," Blackwood starts, spreading his arms wide and smiling widely down at them, "how lovely it is to see all of your faces. I"m honored to have you all as my guests tonight. Dinner tonight is being prepared by my friend, Clare, who was just awarded her third Michelin star. She so generously flew in just to cook for you all tonight, so be sure to pay your compliments to the chef when she shows her lovely face." He pauses as an appreciative murmur rises from the crowd. "To prepare you for the best food and drink you"ll ever have, I have a rising star in the music world here tonight."

Miles jumps as a spotlight finds him, looking around in surprise. Eyes find him from all around the room as Blackwood gestures to him with a wide smile, beckoning him up to the stage, and Miles does his best to grin and wave as he tries to fight back anxiety. He makes his way through the crowd, joining Blackwood"s side as the man continues to talk.

"Miles is just beginning to dip his toes into film, and I warn you all, he"ll be a force to be reckoned with," Blackwood says, smirking at Miles and placing a hand low on his back. "I"d like to invite you all to join us inside for his performance."

Miles stumbles on his way down the stage, allowing Blackwood to lead him inside with his hand.

"Nervous?" Blackwood asks, grinning when Miles looks up at him.

"A little," Miles laughs, allowing his nerves to bleed through in his voice.

It"s the understatement of the decade—Miles feels about two seconds from either throwing up or passing out, maybe both. As Blackwood leads him inside through a different door than everyone else is being ushered in through, Miles catches Kieran"s eyes in the crowd, managing to suck in a deep, calming breath. It"s a little easier, knowing Kieran is in the crowd.

Bodyguard, sidekick, whatever, it"s nice to know he"s here.

He focuses on that as Blackwood leads him into a side room. The door is open, and he can see a large ballroom with a stage on the other side. His brows raise when his eyes land on a guitar, the same make and model he always performs with.

"I did my research," Blackwood says slyly, and Miles tries to look like he"s impressed instead of terrified. He hates the thought of Blackwood knowing anything about him. "This is your first favor from me, sweet boy."

Miles looks up, flinching slightly when he sees Blackwood so close they"re almost nose to nose, leering at him with that unsettling grin. The hand on his back slips lower, squeezing down over his ass. Miles hopes the horrified squeak he lets out comes off as playful and not disgusted.

"You can pay me back later," Blackwood says with a wink before pulling back. "Now go wow my guests."

Miles takes a deep breath before stepping out of the room and heading up onto the stage. There"s a spotlight on a stool in the center with a microphone just in front of it, and Miles does his best to focus on that. He"s not at all prepared, has no idea what he"s even going to sing, and Blackwood put him even more on edge than he was.

He looks out into the crowd and feels dizzy. There are so many people, so many celebrities, and Miles" head is buzzing with nerves.

He settles on the stool, still scanning the crowd as he fidgets with the guitar on his lap and adjusts the microphone. His eyes find Kieran again, and everything seems to go still. The tidal wave of anxiety threatening to crash down on him recedes, his breath comes easier, and his vision stops graying at the edges. Kieran smiles at him, giving him a thumbs up, and Miles thinks that maybe he can actually pull this off.

He keeps his eyes locked on Kieran"s as he starts to perform, not even thinking as he strikes the first chord on his guitar.

He can pull this off.

His sidekick is right here to help him through it.